Make shapes — As a yoga teacher, it’s really easy to get caught up in alignment cues. As you study what is healthy movement versus compromising or questionable movement it’s easy to get swept up in the technicality of a posture.
I compare it to being a doctor who is overworked, overextended and forgets to tend to the patient. They get caught up in the diagnosis. They treat the issue or disease and forget about the person.
If you are in the role of a caretaker, when this happens, you best check yo’self.
When I find myself in this overextended state, I tell myself the following — Who cares what it looks like. Next I ask myself these questions;
1) Are they safe?
2) Are they having some semblance of fun?
3) Let them figure it out and let go of your idea of how this is supposed to go….. #aparigraha
I think one of my favorite things to witness is a new student discovering yoga for the first time. They walk through the door wide eyed and nervous, sometimes attached to the hip of a friend of partner who has been dying to get them to the studio. Their head cranes around the room to watch how the other bodies are moving around them. You can almost hear their thoughts;
“How the f*ck is that lady getting her leg in that position!?”
“That can’t be natural….”
“What the hell did I get myself into!?”
“….I need a beer”
Usually they sink into the rhythm of the practice and more often than not they tap into the collective calm that starts to form in the ether of a slow flowing, easy going yoga class. Their warrior two may be all over the place. Their downward dog resembles more of an angry cat about to get hit by a car, but you know what?
It doesn’t matter.
Of course I’ll come by and adjust the posture if their okay with it and they look like they may injure themselves.
What matters most? They are in the class. They are present. Trying something new. Making Shapes
Even students who have been coming for years who’s bodies are in lock step and may not ever change. Their consistency brings me to tears. They show up, make shapes and spread smiles as they do it.
It’s a practice that moves the body in unusual ways. It takes you out of the day to day sit, stand, walk, or run movements and instead it folds you, brings you to hands and knees, makes the core work, the spine twist and the breath flow.
We end up moving like kids.
If you don’t use range of motion, strength and muscle you lose it.
Usually we apply this to learning a language. As I’m sure many Canadians reading this can attest to, if you don’t use that high school French, it disappears right away. The same thing applies joint mobility, and the creation of muscle mass. To wit – the language of the body is lost if it is not spoken often.
The more you move the more you maintain that precious strength and mobility.
So let’s get in those yoga studios. Take that hip hop class. Try out that dance party on a bike everyone is talking about. Believe me – it’s worth it. Who cares what you look like – we’re all in this together. So let’s make fun shapes <3
